IP: NO SURFING ON THE SENATE FLOOR -- but soon there is a law

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

from Edupage


Senator Michael B. Enzi (R., Wyoming) wants to use his laptop on the floor
of the U.S. Senate, but many of his colleagues are opposed to the idea.
Senator Diane Feinstein (D., California) says:  "I'm not against computers,
but I think they have their place and it's not everywhere.  When you're
speaking on the Senate floor, you should be speaking from a lifetime of
experience, not from what you punch up on a computer."  Senator Robert G.
Torricelli (D., New Jersey) agrees:  "The entry of an electronic notebook
on the floor of the United States Senate will inevitably lead to staff
instructions on voting and the scripting of all remarks."  And the idea
makes Senator Robert C. Byrd (D., Virginia) positively cranky:  "What will
be the next step if we take this?  I would be a bit irritable, I think,  if
I looked around and saw someone sitting beside me, typing on this thing."
(New York Times 10 Aug 97)